The Season Has Begun

Sunday launched the 2011 event season in a very grand way...the Carlsbad 1/2 marathon. Dubbed my favorite course of all run so far, Kris & Elizabeth decided that they needed to check it out and see what all of the fuss was about. Lynne also joined us, a milestone because this was her first 1/2 marathon, with her longest run to date having been a 10K back at Thanksgiving.

The weather and course did not disappoint. It started out a bit chilly, but by about miles 2 or 3, we had all stripped off our gloves, sleeves and sweatshirts and were ready for some serious mileage. Lynne had a beeper thing that chimed at 4 minutes (running time) and then again at 2 minutes (walking time). We made it through what I think was about 12 rounds of that before we opted to just turn it off...it was far too much a distraction than it was helping and quite frankly, I think that it was putting undue pressure on the group to be structured. We finally settled in on a pace that allowed everyone to be comfortable and enjoy the run, or walk, or whatever you wanted it to be.

Things always get a bit grueling (in my opinion) after about 10 miles, and if you are experiencing any aches or pains (as Lynne was with her knees), they are magnified about 100 times at this point. We shuffled along a bit, chatting it up and trying to distract until we landed on the ultimate game...Better Than.

A friend of mine that we bumped into before the race talked about this game - when you get to the point where you are just about over the whole running/race thing, compare the things that your run is better than. We started out easy (being poked in the eye with a stick, getting hit by a car) and then we got incredibly detailed and specific (scalding your tongue on hot coffee and then getting a paper cut when you lick an envelope). The best part about our little game besides entertaining the people around us? The finish line was suddenly upon us and we completed our 13.1 miles!! Lynne cried a little bit.

The season has officially begun!